


Run Boy, Run (Saiouma)

by ySoda (yrxole)



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), Angst, Background Character Death, Dangan Ronpa Spoilers, Despair Era (Dangan Ronpa), Eventual Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi, Explicit Language, Feels, Fluff and Angst, Future Foundation (Dangan Ronpa), I Tried, Implied/Referenced Brainwashing, M/M, Memory Loss, Mild Gore, POV Saihara Shuichi, Ultimates - Freeform, War, but I don't know that's just me, it kind of reminded me of the last hungergames movie, oumasai, saiouma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:34:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24020656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yrxole/pseuds/ySoda
Summary: "His eyes fluttering open, a strange sort of headache made his brain thump in his head, and Shuichi Saihara cringed a little bit from the feeling before he could take in his surroundings. As soon as he did, though, his posture changed.He didn’t remember anything about coming here."Shuichi Saihara finds himself in a very difficult situation.
Relationships: Momota Kaito & Oma Kokichi & Saihara Shuichi, Oma Kokichi & Saihara Shuichi, Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi
Comments: 17
Kudos: 138





	1. The beginning

**Author's Note:**

> A/N:
> 
> Okay, so this is shorter than I usually write my stories, but it's going to be 5 parts as far as I can tell. Usually I don't have the ideas to write more than a short story, but now I've gotten everything written down, I just hope I'll be motivated enough to write more.  
> My break is over so I have schoolwork to do, so updates can take a little longer. I'm still going to try to finish this though.  
> Title is inspired by the song, yes.
> 
> Warnings: swearing, possible spoilers, eventual a little gore 
> 
> -I write ouma with the 'u' because I'm used to his name being spelled like that 'cause of fanfiction  
> -other names are probably gonna be all written how they're seen in the game  
> -I love shuichi saihara (just an announcement I guess) and he's kinda smart in this so good on him
> 
> Constructive critisism is welcome, but please don't be too harsh on me :)

His eyes fluttering open, a strange sort of headache made his brain thump in his head, and Shuichi Saihara cringed a little bit from the feeling before he could take in his surroundings. As soon as he did, though, his posture changed. 

He was in a confined space alright, although it seemed big enough to fit the nine people that were there sitting around the table. The walls were all a dark grey and although Shuichi was sure that there must have been a door, he could not see one so far; perhaps the opening was behind him. There was a bright light from a simple lamp hanging from the ceiling, hurting his eyes, and lighting up only the table and the people around it as the walls were too dark either way. He was sitting in a chair that to his liking was pushed too close to the table, but it felt like he had no way of changing that. On the stone table, or at least that was what Saihara guessed the material used to make the modern looking thing was, were different kind of papers thrown across as if they served no purpose at all. Words were filling the space, words that the bluenette couldn’t focus on as his gaze roamed the place around him.   
  
He didn’t remember anything about coming here. 

The people that were sitting around the table with him didn’t seem to notice his inner dilemma yet, as they kept on talking what they were talking about, which soon enough Saihara caught up on. The clothes he was wearing felt strange on his skin, as he’d gotten used to the tailored suits that fitted his detective image, made to his liking and soft, while the material for whatever was on him now was rough and seeing that the sleeves covered a part of his hands, it wasn’t his size either. His hands were sitting on top of the table, politely almost, and the detective decided not to take them out of their position just for the time being. His clothes, that he now realised to be some sort of overalls, were a lighter grey than the walls were yet dark nonetheless. 

Again looking up, he startled himself with the sudden realisation that he knew the people he was sitting with. For some reason deciding to keep quiet about his problem of apparent memory loss for now, he let his eyes glide across every member around him. To his left sat Kaito Momota, which was a huge relief to him: he knew he could fully trust the purple haired man, even if his usual style choices were horrible and if his hair defied the laws of gravity. To Kaito’s left sat Korekiyo Shinguji. Shuichi had not much of an opinion about him; he knew that the dude was an anthropologist, but besides that and the fact that he had many face masks he didn’t know much about the guy. It was a little strange to see him speak without such a mask on, however, just like now. To Shuichi’s right sat Tenko Chabashira, a girl he quite honestly used to be a little afraid of since she despised men and was the ultimate aikido master, so she definitely would win a fight against the detective. It was also strange to see her hair in one single ponytail bound behind her head, as she usually had a more unique style to define her. On the opposite side of the table to his far left was Kirumi Tojo, a most pleasant girl for company as far as Saihara could tell; she also made great tea, which was nice after a long day at Hope’s Peak. Next to Kirumi sat Maki Harukawa, who besides the chance of style didn’t look different at all somehow. Then, in front of Shuichi, sat Kokichi Ouma. Another purple haired guy, and despite the fact that he was unpredictable and every other word to come out of his mouth was probably a lie, the fact that his other closer friend from the school was here with him was again a relief. Although there was a fair change in posture for the guy; usually he was acting childish and doing whatever he could to annoy the people around him, now he was sitting just like Shuichi and the others were if they weren’t talking, listening and not speaking at all. To Kokichi’s left which was the detective’s far right, sat Ryoma Hoshi, someone who Shuichi again didn’t know that much about, although Kokichi had once told him they shared the same taste in music; that could have been a lie though, the trickster could have just joked about their shared… negativity towards certain aspects of life. So far everyone he had let his eyes come across was wearing the same overalls as he was, regardless of gender as well. On the head of the table sat however someone who was wearing a black and white pattern: Tsumugi Shirogane. Even though they shared classes, Shuichi never talked much to her. He had always found her a little strange, intimidating even, in a whole other way than the Ultimate Assassin. 

As Shuichi’s eyes skimmed across the people in the room silently, he could feel someone’s gaze on his face, and for just a split second he met Kokichi’s eyes that stared right back into his, before he averted his own gaze back to the table. Getting used to the sudden situation he was in, the detective started to hear what was being said around him, and welcomed it when his blue hair fell in his face to cover himself: he wasn’t wearing his hat, and he wasn’t sure why not; he could’ve used that thing to cover his eyes as usually right now, and that would’ve probably calmed his nerves quite a bit. For the things that were being said were… concerning, at the very least. ‘...and they have formed certain groups near Towa City, a so-called _safe haven_ for the Talentless so far, which is why we are to intrude the place tomorrow’, he heard the voice of Shirogane, however, it was far different from how he remembered it to be. She used to be more timid and hold back, however, now her voice was loud and clear as she sounded more like a commander than a school girl. 

‘Are we paired in the usual teams?’, Kirumi asked, her lips barely moving as she spoke. It sounded like her yet it didn’t sound like her, and Shuichi couldn’t put his finger on what exactly was wrong. ‘Yes’, the blue haired commander spoke, ‘you are. Keep an eye on each other and bring spare weapons. It’s possible that the mission takes longer than a day’, she continued, and Kirumi answered with a nod and a short ‘understood’. Shuichi’s thoughts lingered by there being spoken of some sort of mission, and he desperately tried to understand what that could imply. Knowing that they apparently were to bring weapons, this couldn’t be a completely safe type of mission, and perhaps they were even supposed to be violent at some point. He could now almost safely say they were probably at a military base at the moment, something he kind of suspected before when seeing everyone was in uniform. 

Although Shuichi had been avoiding his gaze for now, he could still feel the bright purple eyes of his smaller friend bore into him, and although his conscience told him it probably wasn’t a good idea since Kokichi was a very perceptive person and would probably realise the struggle Saihara was going through right away, he found himself looking back into them. Maybe it was because the topic they were speaking about at the table changed in a far more violent way, and although it might have blown his cover, he found a sense of calmth in the eyes of Ouma that held no certain expression as for now. Definitely when Kaito speaks up with a ‘it’s best to kill them all right away, no good Talented would live among the Talentless like this’, and even though Shuichi didn’t fully get what was being said, he knew that this Kaito was far different from the man he could remember being best friends with. Apparently he was the only one with doubts, when noises of affirmation sounded from almost everyone else at the table. Considering all this, Saihara didn’t even need his detective skills to figure out that he probably shouldn’t tell the people around him about his little situation of not remembering anything and therefore disagreeing right now. Something had happened to these people, something that Shuichi couldn’t quite understand yet, but he would get to find out hopefully a bit soon. 

‘So’, Tsumugi’s face changed into a more pleased expression as she flicked her hair back and shoved her chair back as well, attention now focussed on her. A grin made its way to her face, something that Shuichi again hadn’t seen before. ‘Now the fun can begin; we get to discuss the mass method! It’s just plain boring to go with no hostages’, she continued, getting a tiny gulp from the blue haired ultimate that this was definitely new information to. Luckily they didn’t realise this; the other students seemed just as hyped as Shirogane was, and it made an uneasy feeling set in Saihara’s stomach.

‘Private Hoshi’, she spoke up, all expectant eyes of the ultimates on the smaller male now. ‘hmm… strangulation?’, he opted, Shuichi feeling his eyes involuntarily widening. ‘Ouma!’, Shirogane continued with the same, sick grin on her lips. ‘Electrocution’, he simply responded, yet still, those eyes never left Shuichi’s, and a shiver ran down his spine. If Kokichi knew, which it kind of looked like right now, he could choose to blow Saihara’s cover any time he wanted to. Seeing that these people apparently didn’t care the slightest bit for murder, he wouldn’t be surprised if it would end fairly bad for himself as well. ‘Harukawa!’, the blue haired girl pointed at her, seeming to get more excited the longer this went on. ‘Decapitation’. ‘Ooh, I like that one!’, Tsumugi clapped in her hands, before turning to Kirumi. ‘Tojo!’. ‘Poisoning’. ‘Boring’, the leader huffed, and to Shuichi’s horror, the students around him snickered softly. ‘Shinguji!’, Shirogane continued. ‘Burning… in a ritual, perhaps’, he spoke, and while his voice and way of speaking was the same as usual, the detective himself could still not believe that those words would leave his lips. ‘Chic!’, the blue haired woman giggled softly, clapping in her hands again, and clamping them in front of her chest. ‘Momota!’. ‘Mutilation; let them bleed out’, Kaito responded calmly, and although she frowned a little, the smirk never left her face. ‘That would make quite the mess, don’t you think?’. 

  
Whatever the response may have been from Kaito, Shuichi wasn’t listening anymore. Although he knew the ultimate Astronaut for just a year and a half, he knew that this could not be him. This couldn’t be Kaito, who kept him sane whenever stress way weighing him down too much. This couldn’t be his friend that used his own free time to haul Shuichi out of his room if he was having certain episodes, the friend that would tell Saihara to eat even if he was upset and would stand up for him whenever an upperclassman pushed him aside paying no mind to the people around them as they walked through the hall. Momota, that in the span of one year and a half he felt like he knew better than he knew his own parents, he would never say something as cruel as that. A panic was pulsing through the detective’s veins and spreading through his body, although he still chose not to say anything. He knew that if he let this continue his breathing would become erratic and that would show the people around them that something was wrong, but he couldn’t stop it. 

‘Saihara!’, Tsumugi called his name, and the detective’s head shot up at the mentioning of his last name. All eyes, not just Kokichi’s, were now also on him, and it wasn’t even his social anxiety making him sweat; also the knowledge of what they expected of him. He cleared his throat quietly, noticing how dry it was, before swiftly trying to come up with something so the leader would just go on to someone else. ‘U-uh… s-suffocation?’, he said, his voice coming out uneven and hesitant as he was feeling, although he tried to keep himself looking like everything was fine and this was completely normal. Apparently though, Shirogane wasn’t fooled that easily. 

The clicking sound of her heels as she walked around the table towards Shuichi filled the room, but other than that, there was a complete silence. Shuichi kept his lips pressed in a thin line, using a trick that he’d learned over the years of being unsocial as he still looked towards Tsumugi: he opted for looking just above her eyes, so he wouldn’t get too nervous. And nervous he was; if it weren’t for the lying lessons that Kokichi forced him to have from the smaller trickster, Shuichi was pretty sure his skill of acting would’ve sucked more than it already did at the moment. The girl stopped in her tracks as she was standing in front of Saihara, her black and white uniform in contrast to his own grey one, and slowly he started to see the probably small joke that was made with this strange design. He was scared, yet he waited, saying nothing. 

Out of nowhere, Tsumugi lifted her left hand, before placing it against Shuichi’s forehead. He knew he had been a little sweaty from the fear that overcame him because of this situation, so it couldn’t have been that pleasant of an experience for the young woman, and he wasn’t sure what she was trying to do anyway until she dropped the hand to her side and spoke up with a groan. ‘ugh, he still has the fever. We can’t talk with him when he’s like this. Komaeda!’, she called out, turning her back to Shuichi, who finally was able to take a breath again. _That was close_ , he thought shakingly. 

It was as if the wall in front of him opened, but using his logic Shuichi decided that probably wasn’t the case; the door just had almost the same shade of the walls and therefore he hadn’t noticed it. Automatically it opened as some sort of iron sliding door, revealing a tall guy with hair as white as clouds would be (and quite honestly also in the same shape). His clothes were dark and he had dark marks under his eyes, which scared Shuichi in a strange way. ‘At your service’, the boy said, his voice strangely calm in the situation that he found himself in, but Shuichi supposed that he was more used to this than the detective himself at the moment. ‘Great. Take private Saihara to his room, and bring over Amami if you can find him’, the girl said, waving towards the white haired male in acknowledgement although she didn’t even spare him a glance before continuing her chat with the ultimates. 

Supposing he could, Shuichi got up from the chair he was sitting in, and silently made his way over to Komaeda. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Ouma’s glance following him, and he was sure of it: the purple haired boy knew, he must have known. 

A cold hand with bony fingers the same pale that the rest of the boy’s skin was clamped around Shuichi’s wrist and pulled him forward, moving swiftly through the halls that this place had and skilfully the guy managed to dodge groups of what Shuichi in his mind started calling _soldiers_ with the same colored jumpsuit that the bluenette had on. They passed multiple rooms that, when Shuichi managed to get a peek from inside of them, probably served the same purpose as the room he had just left. The people they crossed didn’t even look at him, their eyes set on their eventual destination and as dull as the walls around Shuichi that never changed their depressing grey color. Even if the lighting was better around the building than it had been in the room where he’d basically woken up in, he still couldn’t see that much. There was no decor, no change for ceiling or for the floor, and it felt like an endless loop the more halls they passed, until Komaeda suddenly stopped in his tracks and Shuichi accidentally collided with the guy, stepping back swiftly and apologizing instinctively. They had arrived at the detective’s room. 


	2. Perhaps He's Trustworthy.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shuichi investigates the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> Okay so apparently I lied about updating slowly as I continued writing right away. It's still possible that it's gonna take a while to update the rest though, like, multiple days. 
> 
> The same warnings as last time. There's a little gore in this one.

Entering his room and parting ways with the guy that brought Shuichi here, the detective let out a quiet sigh. He wasn’t sure what he supposed would have happened once he stepped into the room; maybe he had hoped somewhere that once he set foot in a place he undoubtedly spends a lot of time in, some of his memories would have came flowing back and he would understand everything that was going on and all the strange things the people he used to know said would just make sense and this nightmare would be over. Of course that didn’t happen, but one could hope.

A second thing he may have secretly wanted was that the room would have showed a little bit of personality at least, but it didn’t. It was exactly the same colour as the rest of the building, something Shuichi felt himself getting sick of already, and besides the interior change it looked exactly the same as every other place he had seen so far. There were four beds, which were two pairs of bunk beds on the left and right side of the room where Shuichi walked in. The top bunk seemed like a bad spot to sleep in, as it was way too close to the ceiling for anyone to be very comfortable in that bed, but the bottom bunks weren’t any better. The blankets and pillows were very thin and obviously there wasn’t paid a lot of money for the material. It reminded the detective of the times his family wanted to go out camping with him, and although the overall experience was always thrilling, the beds and how to sleep was horrible. 

Besides a lamp and the beds there also were some sort of cupboards in the room instead of a closet, and they immediately piqued the bluenette’s interest. The floor was hard and cold under his feet when the boy kicked his shoes off and socked feet met the ground, a cringe on his face: he would have to get used to everything here. 

The contents that these small drawers held were at least a little interesting. There were four drawers for the four beds he supposed, and it made sense now that he shared these room with three other people. Even though it might have been holding private information, the detective in Saihara couldn’t help but to peek through the contents of every cupboard anyway. 

The one on top left he opened first, which held an arrangement of stabbing weapons that were neatly stacked together. As he let his hands glide over some of the objects in awe, since although they freaked the Hell out of him, the blades were nice, he accidentally cut his finger, and with a hiss he pulled his hand back. The crimson red that was his blood mockingly trickled down the finger and onto his overalls, creating tiny droplets of darker spaces on the suit. Strangely enough though, something he wouldn’t have guessed happened as Shuichi put the finger in his mouth for a pretty stupid reason; he always tried to stop the bleeding that way when he’d accidentally cut his finger while trying to cook, and even though it never helped, it was a habit he couldn’t unlearn anymore. But as he looked down at the spot that blood had dripped onto, hoping it wasn’t too close to his crotch since the droplets only showed a dark spot in his jeans and it would look like he had an accident ( _ of course that’s a top priority at a time like this, _ Shuichi disapprovingly thought about this thought process as soon as he realised it), he found that there was no stain at all anymore. With a frown he watched, and held his hand out above the knee, a tiny droplet of blood falling down onto it. Sure enough, after waiting a little, the wet spot in the fabric was gone completely. Apparently it was designed that way, and Shuichi hoped he would never have to find out why. 

Despite the accident, Shuichi still continued rummaging through the drawers. The one on the top right held different sorts of guns, which also interested the detective as much as they scared him. Most of the weapons in that cupboard were big, and definitely had to be held with two hands, which made him wonder if he was the one to carry such pistols. As he held one in his hand, it felt heavy and dangerous, and the boy swiftly shoved it back into the place it came from. As far as he searched now there were no personal items in these things, which frustrated him. He wanted to know more about himself and besides that he wanted to know more about his roommates that he just couldn’t remember, and he hoped to find at least some information, but unless the only thing he was interested in was what type of fighters he was staying with, there was almost nothing useful to him around. Then some strange looking Ipad that was almost hidden under one of the weapons caught his eye. 

He picked it up, studying the black screen and the grey behind, holding the device with both hands and inspecting its buttons. Finding one, he turned the thing on.  _ Monopad _ , it read, and he frowned a little bit at the black and white background it had. It reminded him of Tsumugi’s suit, and now he thought about it, when he walked through the halls here with that Komaeda guy, he had seen a few other people with the same suits as she had, while most of the people walking around here wore the same grey overalls as Shuichi had. The detective tried to look further into the device, but it had a fingerprint passcode, and when he pressed his thumb against the part he was supposed to, it didn’t recognize his print; he supposed this  _ monopad _ wasn’t his. 

The left cupboard that was under the one with the blades, Shuichi opened after putting back the device where he’d found the thing. He frowned a little by seeing its contents, although it wasn’t far off from what he’d seen before. It was just that this drawer held a lot of different things, that so far, Shuichi couldn’t think would actually be useful in any type of mission. There were throwing knives and what he supposed were tiger claws on one side of the thing together, while he was pretty sure he could see a crossbow and other daggers on the opposite side. There was even a smaller sword in there, and he frowned a little; who in the world could handle all those things? For reasons unknown, his mind traveled to Kokichi Ouma. Well, not exactly reasons  _ unknown _ . The cupboard was kind of chaotic and while that fit the ultimate Supreme Leader’s energy as far as Shuichi could tell, he also wouldn’t be surprised if he was the one that could handle all different kinds of weaponry. Despite the fact that he called himself the Supreme Leader of Evil (which Shuichi doubted was his true talent after finding his true personality behind his lies), the boy was kind of a big mystery to most and even though Shuichi had been friends with him for as long as he had been friends with Kaito, he still uncovered new things about him from time to time. He was complicated and overall very annoying, but one must admit, he was also very skilled. The Ouma that Shuichi remembered could pick almost any lock he wanted to, resulting into many unwanted visits from his friend during the day or past the school’s night curfew, and he managed to win almost any game they would play. So it wouldn’t surprise Saihara if this thing belonged to his friend… if he could even still call Kokichi his friend, since he wasn’t sure what exactly was going on yet. 

The last cupboard to the right was a lot milder if he looked solemnly at the type of weapons that were in there; just a couple of small guns, and a dagger or two, but that was really it. It didn’t seem like a great warrior owned that drawer, so that was at least one less person he would have to fear. Despite the fact that he knew absolutely nothing of his own skills in combat, he supposed it would be somewhat nice if he didn’t have to fear everyone around him no matter what. Again it held one of those  _ monopads _ , but this time the device wasn’t really hidden away. It almost seemed like it was frequently used. Shuichi turned the screen on, being met with the same fingerprint passcode screen, and tried it out once more. This time his efforts were rewarded; the device unlocked, showing Saihara to a black and white home screen with only two apps on them. Glad with his find, Shuichi sat himself down on the right bottom bunk, supposing that was also his, and he took his time to look through the whole object. 

The first thing he looked through was a picture gallery, hoping to get some more personal information about himself. Sadly enough there was only one picture of an ID that apparently belonged to him, for whatever reason he would need that picture. There was a small map that read ‘personal’, but it was empty; it seemed to have been recently emptied out as well, and Shuichi sighed quietly, a frustrated frown on his face. He turned away from that app, deciding it wasn’t that important, and he clicked on the other one that simply said  _ schedule _ . The screen took a moment to load, the glow running over Shuichi’s face and hurting his eyes somewhat, before becoming blank. For a moment the detective was scared he did something wrong and the thing was turned off, so he pressed some buttons, but then it started right up again. It indeed was a schedule: the first thing it started on was today. It had only the meeting scheduled that apparently started two hours ago while Shuichi had definitely not consciously gone through that period of time. Scrolling through the data, he could see different types of appointments, and also a notice that he had gotten sick (the fever that Tsumugi mentioned perhaps?) two days ago so wasn’t able to come to the meetings and missions that day and the day after. At least this schedule told him that the detective had been quite the busy bee beforehand; almost every day there was a different type of meeting or mission with names of cities he somewhat recognized, but also some that he’d never heard of before. Right before Shuichi wanted to turn the device off, a notification popped up, saying a new mission was scheduled. He clicked on it, and all it said was the date of the next day, 6 am, Towa City raid. Again a shiver ran down his spine uncomfortably, and he turned the monopad off quickly, stuffing it back in his cupboard. 

There wasn’t a lot to do in the room, so Shuichi was somewhat glad when the door automatically opened and showed his three roommates entering, before the door closed right behind them. In order walked in Kaito Momota, Korekiyo Shinguji and Kokichi Ouma; seeing the last one arrive, Shuichi felt himself slightly panic again. He was pretty sure that the boy had caught up on his behavior, so it may be dangerous with him there.  _ But at the same time _ , Shuichi told himself,  _ you’re not in trouble yet, so that means he hasn’t told anyone. Perhaps he’s trustworthy?.  _ At least that thought managed to calm the detective down a little, who nodded towards the students who did the same to acknowledge his presence. 

‘How’s your fever?’, Kaito spoke up, face turned to Shuichi. Although it was almost nothing, the bluenette felt his eyes widen and a bit of hope blossomed in his chest. He had almost been convinced that his friends were replaced with robots or at least their souls were replaced, and while he logically knew that wasn’t possible, the thought had still been unsettling. But perhaps Kaito was still the guy he was used to. ‘O-oh, better now’, Shuichi said, just to be sure not sounding too excited and holding himself back, responding shortly. Momota only nodded once again to affirm he had indeed heard that the detective spoke, before turning away from him. It may have been normal for anyone, but the hope that had bloomed in Saihara’s chest was long gone, and he tried not to seem too disappointed; they were still strange. He knew Kaito better than anyone, but the boy he knew would’ve made a bigger deal out of his sidekick being sick or getting better, so this felt very out of character and overall strange. 

A sound startled Shuichi, and he looked over to the source; the door. A smaller part on the lower part of the door had opened up, seeming like a slot opening that the detective hadn’t noticed before. Swiftly four plates were shoved into the room, when with the same slam that it had opened with, the slot closed and there was no light from outside of the room coming in; they had to do with the weak lighting from their lamp. Shuichi gulped quietly; he felt like a prisoner, and it wasn’t fun. In addition to that strange feeling of being locked in here as if he was a criminal, the food almost didn’t look like food at all once he picked up the last plate after all his roommates had grabbed a plate already. They sat on their beds, Shuichi again waiting for everyone to take a seat, and his assumption of the right lower bunk being his turned out to be correct. Above him lied Korekiyo, and the other bottom bunk was occupied by Kokichi, which only left the other top bunk for Kaito. Without looking at the other males Shuichi started to eat the strange almost liquid products, although what must have been flesh he left on his plate; it looked gross and while the potatoes and whatever those greens were didn’t look that appetizing either, this looked straight up like it would poison him. 

Looking down at his lap and at the plate as he ate silently and tried to get used to the situation, Shuichi noticed the pair of in grey overall cladded legs that stopped in front of his own. He thought that if he wouldn’t look up, they’d go away soon enough, but when he managed to stare down at his plate for another five minutes and the person didn’t leave, he finally made himself look up into the purple eyes that belonged to Kokichi Ouma. A little started the detective eyed him, hoping he didn’t seem as nervous as he really felt. The boy he knew was unpredictable, but this Kokichi could’ve been even more unpredictable. In his hands he was also holding a plate that was mostly empty, although he seemed to have the same preference for food that Saihara had; the fluid mess that was supposed to be flesh was also left on his plate. He held out his hand that wasn’t occupied, and Shuichi was a little confused, until he lifted his plate and placed it in the hand. For just a small moment he could swear the corners of the boy’s lips twitched upwards, but that might have been the hopeful detective’s imagination, when the supreme leader shuffled to the bathroom, plates in hand. 

The others didn’t pay mind to him; they were already undressing which was something that flustered the detective who wasn’t used to sharing his room with others. In no time a sound indicated the toilet flushed and Kokichi returned to the room, now with empty plates in his hands that he placed with the others, before turning to his bed and doing the same as Kaito and Korekiyo were doing. 

Shuichi lied in his bed on his back, staring up at the top bunk where he knew Kiyo was staying. He was still confused with everything that was happening, and Kokichi’s behaviour seemed somewhat strange as well; he obviously knew more than he let on, and that was kind of out of character for the kid. The Kokichi that Saihara knew would have probably rubbed his knowledge in Shuichi’s face while lying about the half of it, but this time the guy was as deadly silent as the others in the room where. Moving his head to the right, Shuichi noticed the gleaming purple returning the gesture, long lashes blinking, and Shuichi’s head hurt from how much he wanted to yell out to him and ask what was going on, what he was doing, what was  _ wrong  _ with him. But he didn’t, and the lights turned off almost as on que, signaling he was supposed to go to sleep. 

Although it took him a while, sleep also took over the mind of Shuichi Saihara, and he drifted off to a peaceful no man's land. At least for a little while, before things drastically changed. 

_ Shuichi’s eyes opened in a completely white room, his heartbeat racing and as he tried to sit up in whatever chair was holding him, he couldn’t; he noticed he was strapped to the place. Blurry and vaguely things happened around him; he heard voices but couldn’t focus on the words, he saw doctors but couldn’t focus on the faces, he felt pain but he couldn’t focus on where exactly. Although eventually, he felt a sharp pain near his ears, a buzzing pain that definitely was purposefully brought upon him, and he struggled against the confinements holding him in place when he endured the process. Something was held against his temples by someone behind him, something that kept frequently sending a small signal of pain through his brain, and Shuichi bit his lip harshly. He wasn’t sure why; it was a dreamlike state in which he knew he had to keep his mouth shut. He heard screams from the other side of the room, just as tired and worn as he was feeling, and only for a split second he saw the dot of purple hair in the same contrapment that Saihara was in. His eyes became more blurred when pained tears formed in them, and eventually his teeth let go of his lower lip. As soon as they did, something was being shoved into his mouth with big spoons full, it tasted like meat but it smelled like what he always imagined rat poison smelled like.  _

Shuichi woke up in cold sweat, startled shooting to sit up and bumping his head on the top bunk. Wincing, he grabbed onto his throbbing forehead, remembering the strange dream. It felt real, too real. His detective instincts were telling him to think longer about it and come to a good conclusion, but his Shuichi-instincts were telling him that if he wanted to be able to get up at 6am the next morning like his schedule told him to, he probably would want to try and sleep some more. So, deciding on the last option, he lied back down and tried to push thoughts about his dream way. 

Luckily the dream didn’t return to him, instead making place for a much happier setting. A dream where Shuichi was back at hope’s peak, having a sleepover that Kaito and Kokichi pressured him into, and joining them with his blankets on the soft carpeted floor as they sat in front of a television that played some random scary movie, every jumpscare the bluenette burying his face into Kokichi’s shoulder, who would make some stupid joke and annoy the other two every time this would happen, although the sweet gesture was that he made the movie a lot less scary, even if Kaito would complain until the ghosts would appear on screen and he too would start squeaking in a way that cracked the other two boys up. Better times those most certainly were. 


	3. More Knowledge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shuichi finds out more about their situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> This one is a little longer than usual.  
> Sorry for my bad attempt at a little bit of humor, I should realise I'm not funny by now lmao  
> Same warnings as before.
> 
> btw I don't know how to change the note at the end so pay no mind to that.

Shuichi eyes shot open when his bunk bed was moving with a sudden thrust, startling the detective awake. The culprit of this sudden attack on his sleep skipped back to his side of the room, purple hair tied together messily that even in this situation Shuichi found to be somewhat endearing. A quiet yawn escaped his lips as he moved onto his back.   
  
If he said that he had never been this tired before, he would be lying. The young detective often found himself staying up all night studying for certain tests at Hope’s Peak, even if Kaito would tell him that he was doing fine and would get better marks if he didn’t arrive in their class like a zombie after pulling an all-nighter. As well had he been to sleep overs, so he knew what it was like to wake up tired yet pleased after spending a good time with your friends. This was however a whole different kind of tired; a far more unpleasant one. After the dreams he had last night, he didn’t sleep that long and at the same time felt like he went through a lot during his sleep, making him wake up unrested and unsatisfied. Even though he was not a morning person, Shuichi remembered the situation he was in; the sound of the others moving out of their bed and changing back into the grey overalls filled the room, rustling of blankets and the sound of zippers being closed. Checking the clock that was in the poorly lit room, Shuichi could see that he had exactly fifteen minutes to get everything done before it would be six and their mission would start. Although he wasn’t sure how strict this place exactly was with timing and rules, he didn’t want to test them either, considering they wouldn’t back away from murder.   
  
The blue haired boy struggled a little to find where he’d thrown the jumpsuit off the night prior to this morning, reaching under his bed eventually. His fingers touched fabric, however, it was shoved too far under for him to be able to grab it from where he was sitting on the bed. Although it was strange that his clothes had gotten that far underneath the bunk, Shuichi didn’t have a lot of time to think about the cause of events, so although it embarrassed him a little, he got on his knees next to the bunk bed and reached his arm underneath the bed. However, as he grabbed onto the grey fabric, he noticed a glow coming from underneath them as he started to pull the overalls closer. Curious yet cautious he continued to pull the substitute of an actual uniform from under the bed, and this way whatever the source of the light from down there was also moved forward a little. Once he’d completely removed the article of clothing, one of the monopads had revealed itself under his bed. And it was turned on. 

Glancing over his right shoulder, he saw Momota and Shinguji already standing near the door, waiting in position, and so was Ouma. However, the ultimate Supreme Leader also glanced at him swiftly, and moved his head ever so slightly in his direction. Shuichi knew enough; this was apparently Kokichi’s doing. Although the detective was now even more curious to see what the object was doing underneath his bunk, he also didn’t want to give himself away if someone were to open the door 6am sharp, so reluctantly he decided to hoist himself in the ugly overalls first. Closing the zipper and rolling up a part of his sleeves so they stopped getting in the way of his hands, and after putting his shoes back on which was a huge improvement for his cold feet, he swiftly noted that no one was looking and grabbed a hold of the monopad. It was opened; that was a good thing, since it was probably Kokichi’s device and Shuichi wasn’t sure how to get his fingerprint on there without the other two in the room noticing. He knew that even though he was best friends with Kaito, he couldn’t fully trust this version that was his roommate; something fishy was going on, and Saihara wanted to get to the bottom of it. 

The Ultimate Supreme Leader’s monopad consisted of three apps: the picture gallery, the schedule, but also something called _notes_ that the detective immediately found to be interesting considering that it was something his own device did not have. Concluding that Kokichi’s schedule couldn’t be that different from Shuichi’s and therefore wasn’t that important, he chose to click on the icon of the picture gallery first. There were many maps that had ridiculous titles like _ew it’s tsumugi_ and _rantaro can gET IT_ that for some reason didn’t surprise Shuichi at all. Because of the limited amount of time he had, most of those with the strange titles he just swiftly scrolled through only to see that Kokichi basically had been keeping tabs on every classmate of theirs that apparently were in this situation as well. There was a folder that said his name and some strange combinations of emoticons that Saihara would rather not think about, but the pictures weren’t really consistent of anything. As he scrolled through the other folders, his brow quirked a bit when there was one that said _dear detective_. He opened the map, seeing there were four pictures. The first one was of a cabinet that Shuichi hadn’t seen before. The pattern of the wall behind the cabinet told him enough though; it was black and white, like the clothes Tsumugi had worn. As he zoomed in on the subject of the picture, the cabinet itself, he could see there were different types of small bottles in there. The icons painted on the front told him enough as well: it were different types of poisons, with different purposes. Some seemed to be deadly, other had a strange icon that made Shuichi think of someone becoming crazy or nauseous, maybe? He frowned a little as he looked through the picture, finding different injection needles laying in the lowest compartment, and a horrified shiver ran down his spine. 

Checking the time, the detective decided to remember the picture and scroll to the next one. As he saw what was going on in the picture though, his hand startled to tremble a little bit, and uncertain he eyed over to the ultimate that gave him the monopad. Kokichi wasn’t looking at him anymore, instead copying the two roommates next to them and standing in position. Luckily Kaito and Korekiyo seemed out of it enough not to mind that Shuichi wasn’t standing as he was supposed to yet. With no help from the purple haired boy, his eyes met with the sight again. He knew this city; it was close to Hope’s Peak where they went to school. But right at this moment, he wasn’t so sure if he even still went there. The place was almost completely destroyed, and through squinted eyes the detective noticed different lumps laying around, that definitely wasn’t the broken brick of decomposed buildings. Swallowing the uncomfortable feeling that set in his throat, Shuichi continued to look at the next picture. 

Again, he felt like his heart decided to stop beating and at the same moment his chest decided he wouldn’t need air anymore. He couldn’t expect Ouma to risk his cover he was definitely trying hard to hold just to come over and give the detective some emotional support, so Shuichi closed his eyes, and told himself to calm down. He didn’t have a lot of time left, and he didn’t want to risk someone walking in on him doing something that he shouldn’t be doing. He supposed Kokichi had risked a lot by taking these pictures and keeping them on his monopad, so even though the images were horrifying, he was grateful towards the trickster. But still, he couldn’t help the panic as he saw this photograph. It was taken through the gap of one of the sliding doors, and the fact that the image was moved a bit suggested that it was a quick snapshot. Although the details were a little vague, Shuichi could still see the blinding white room, that took him back to the dream he had the night before. Biting down on the inside of his cheek so he wouldn’t start making any frightened noises, the detective forced himself to keep inspecting the picture; being a detective was his talent after all, and it was about time he used it despite his own personal dilemmas. There were multiple white seats that reminded the bluenette of what you might find at a dentist’s office, however, if your dentist came out of some horror movie. Straps were fastened to the chairs, close to the areas were Shuichi supposed would be your feet, arms, and neck. He gulped quietly, remembering his own situation and what he was dreaming about when he struggled to get out, but failed to. There wasn’t a lot more to the room, but considering that it was something the boy vaguely remembered, it did help a lot, and although he felt the panic rise in his chest again, he thought about how much trouble the smaller boy would have been in if someone were to find out he was taking these pictures. 

The last photograph was at least a little milder, although it wasn’t great either. Shuichi immediately recognized his own blue hair and facial structure, even though his eyes were closed in a way that suggested he was sleeping. His face was set in a calm expression, which surprised the detective who usually got tormented during his sleep. However, that wasn’t the thing that was important of this picture. A pale hand that Shuichi supposed belonged to Kokichi, since it was his device after all, reached to the sleeping detective’s hair and pushed it up a little near the side of his forehead. And Saihara immediately noticed the strange spot that was placed near his temple; in the lighting it seemed like a bruise, which was undoubtedly what it represented. He frowned a little bit, his hand involuntarily traveling to his own temples, rubbing the skin and wincing a bit. It hurt, which suggested there was still a bit of the damage left. He once again remembered the dream and how he felt different lengths of pain over certain time periods near his head; it made him wonder how much of this dream had really been a dream, and what part of it was a memory. 

Closing off the app now that the detective had looked through all the important things, he chose to take a look at the last thing he deemed interesting; _notes_. The screen loaded, and impatiently Saihara tapped his finger to the black and white screen, trying to stay silent enough so his presence in the spot wouldn’t be revealed to the others in the room. Although again his head hurt from the lighting that came from the screen, he used his body to cover most of it from the sight of the door. There were three minutes left, and every second counted to the detective who got a little more nervous the amount of time that passed. Finally the screen showed him the one note that was left; apparently Kokichi hadn’t used it as much as Shuichi thought he would have. Again the note was addressed ‘dear detective’, and while it was somewhat cute, Shuichi bit his lip and scanned the contents of the thing. It wasn’t that long, really, just a small thing. Seeing that the note was written the day prior, Saihara supposed that Ouma didn’t have a lot of time to write everything down, and used whatever small moment he could. 

_‘dear detective,_ _  
_ _listen to me please, I’m not lying when I say that your friends are not who you knew them to be. You probably figured by now the amount of shit going on around here, and while I’d love to annoy the shit out of you with my knowledge, this is not the right time considering we could both be killed for regaining our own conscience alone. Or worse; they would find out how we regained it, and others will be in much more danger than we are._ _  
_ _-K.O_ _  
_ _p.s no emo hat = big improvement 4 u shushu xoxo’_

Although the last part of the message made Shuichi roll his eyes with a small sigh, he still lingered on the importance of the message. Although he somewhat figured by now that the people around them weren’t who they used to be, it clicked now that he himself wasn’t either. The supreme leader spoke of their ‘conscience’ as if it was changed, and that could only mean one thing. Someone had been messing with their minds. Seeing that there was a minute left, Shuichi swiftly turned the monopad off and placed it in Ouma’s cupboard where it probably belonged, before standing next to his bed in the same position the others were, trying to keep the expressionless face on him that the others also had. Just in time actually, as the doors slid open automatically and revealed Shirogane. 

The girl stepped forward, and towards Shuichi, making the detective a little nervous again and he wondered if maybe she noticed that something was off about him. Her hand again reached to his forehead, and although the cold touch of her fingers was most unpleasant when he considered the person that was touching his skin, he didn’t complain. With gentle smile that somewhat confused him in the situation although he was more used to it from the blue haired girl, she stepped back and pushed her glasses back on her nose. ‘The fever’s gone, that’s good’, she started, then turned her attention to everyone in the room, and her hands were placed on her hips as she showed authority. ‘Now, you know where to meet. Don’t keep me waiting’, Tsumugi exclaimed, before leaving the room. The doors this time didn’t close right behind her, and for a second Shuichi waited a little confused on what he was supposed to do, until he saw Kiyo and Kaito walk towards their drawers; they were getting armed, and he supposed he had to as well. So, he waited for the two taller guys to be done, and as they stepped aside both Kokichi and Shuichi stepped forward. The detective looked through his drawer, again a little panicked, since he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to get for a mission like this, and what his supposed specialties were; he sucked as a warrior in any videogames he used to play with his friends, so he wasn’t sure if he would be any better in real life. He probably got trained at some point, but considering that he couldn’t remember any of that, he was very hesitant. Eyeing to his left, the detective hoped that Ouma could see he was struggling and would be able to help him in some way. Luckily the supreme leader seemed to notice him, and after a quick look over his shoulder he pushed the detective aside and took out two different types of guns and one dagger, placing them on the bluenette where they were supposed to go. Shuichi didn’t want to risk alarming the others by speaking up, so a grateful glance had to do, and luckily Ouma seemed to catch it as he swiftly placed his hand on the other’s shoulder when he pushed past him to the door. 

Again somewhat lucky, it seemed as if he could simply follow Momota and Shinguji, with Kokichi to his side. Paying mind to the way he walked, observing how the two in front of him were in sync and copying their movements, Saihara followed the other two ‘ _soldiers_ ’ out of the room and into the hall that he remembered from being led through there by Komaeda the day before. Although it was pretty early in the day, the building seemed to be fully awake; there were a lot of others in the same jumpsuits walking, ranging from groups of four to groups of twelve. Again, their eyes were all set on the destination they had to go. Although something seemed to be a little wrong when he glanced to his left; a group had come to halt. There was a red haired girl that he didn’t recognize but reminded him somewhat of a taller version of a former classmate of his, Himiko, that looked around her in confusion as everyone stopped. The group of four that Saihara was in didn’t stop to look at what happened, but Shuichi could only guess when a group of workers dressed in black and white sped towards the girl and with a big amount of fuss pulled her away. Although he kept his eyes straight on the longer green hair of Korekiyo that was walking in front of him, he gulped quietly. It seemed to have been indeed a good choice not to show that he had regained his own conscience. 

Soon enough the detective found himself in a place he hadn’t yet seen the day before, and although he hoped to notice different things about the building, it all seemed exactly the same everywhere and it almost made his head spin. That’s why when they reached a door and Kaito took out his monopad that Shuichi had left back at the room, and placed it in front of some scanner near the door, and the door opened, the boy was glad to finally get some of the fresh air outside; even if it wasn’t that fresh to begin with. Now Shuichi supposed he knew what the picture of his ID or whatever it may have been had been on his monopad; if he wanted to leave the building, he either had to be in a group with someone that possessed such a thing, or take his own with. It wouldn’t surprise him if there were a tracker in the device to keep track of their troops. They stepped out of the building, a strong breeze hitting Shuichi’s face and almost startling him, but he welcomed the air, even if it smelled somewhat burning; he supposed the world around him was, after all. 

On the somewhat damaged concrete there were multiple jeeps and SUVs that were parked near the edges, a parking lot marked with what seemed like white chalk as if it was a last minute invention. Now he looked closely, there were guards surrounding the building; he supposed there must have been a threat to this group of people as well. For as far as he could tell, the group he found himself in were basically _the bad guys_ (judging by the fact that they probably used brainwashing methods and were a fan of killing what they called _Talentless_ ), so it was a bit of a relief when he logically concluded that there may be a group of good people out there as well, otherwise this building wouldn’t need protection. The groups of people walking outside he recognized; almost his whole class was out there with addition of other people that he couldn’t remember ever meeting. The relief that washed over him was quickly gone, as he was ushered to one of the SUVs with a hurry by his group mates, that he decided to swiftly follow as if nothing was wrong. The group of four entered the smaller truck and Shuichi made sure to sit in the far back next to Ouma, so he wouldn’t be spotted if his facial expression eventually managed to screw him over. Momota and Shinguji sat in front of them, and behind the wheel was an unknown person with instead of the grey overalls completely black ones; Shuichi supposed that was so the people that were in charge knew he was a driver. Next to the driver sat another soldier, and Saihara recognized the green hair to be Rantaro’s. He bit his lip, looking down at his lap, as he realised once again that this Rantaro Amami was a far different one than the one that he used to know back when everything was still a simple students life at Hope’s Peak for the detective. 

Although he was fairly hidden behind the seats in front of him, Shuichi still kept his face pointed forward as he carefully glanced outside to his left. In no time the engine started and the car started driving, as they left the building that he could now quickly make out was taller than just the one floor he had been on. A lot taller; he was pretty sure it was about as tall a building as Hope’s Peak had been, and that connection made him feel a little uncomfortable again. The concrete wasn’t taken care of in a while anywhere it seemed, but at least the car followed a fairly straight path so far, for a moment showing a deserted land. It seemed like whatever plants had been around there were taken out and there were construction borders, that judging by the black and white motives belonged to whoever Tsumugi belonged to. Although the borders did stop at some point, nothing more changed; there was a little more green in the environment and it pleased Saihara to a certain degree that not the whole world was screwed over as he feared it had been. Constantly he could feel the car as it worked its wheels over dents in the road, shaking the passengers riding the vehicle. A hot sun was set on the dark SUV, and while the windows were somewhat blinded, it felt like they were being boiled alive in there. Shuichi didn’t comment on it any way, hoping that they wouldn’t notice the uncomfortableness in his posture. 

Soon enough the road let to some city. At first the detective thought that was their destination, but upon further investigation, he was pretty sure that assumption was wrong; there would be nothing to gain from this place. The city, if he even still could call it a city, reminded the boy a lot of the photograph Ouma had showed him on his monopad; the buildings were damaged, the land was damaged and the streets were a mess. Although he managed to stay silent, the boy tensed up visibly when he saw the lumps of bodies in the street in person. It made him think about how many times he must have passed places like this with no second glance at the bodies of victims whose lives were taken far too early. Some smokey grey hung in the air, and it reminded him of his suit, which fit in his head; it was after all them that caused this, if he could trust the information he’d gotten so far. 

  
Although it hurt to look, he kept his gaze hidden away from the people driving the car and outside on the damaged towns that they drove through. His heart was beating loudly in his chest, not in fear but in an uneasy feeling and knowledge, in questions. He had seen that he’d been on multiple missions so far including multiple raids, and it made him wonder how much of this was _directly_ his fault. Was the murder of any of the dead people that were helplessly laying on the pavement, hidden away by brick dust and damaged material, directly his fault? According to the schedule he had, he was pretty sure he participated in many of the mass-murders that Shirogane and her team planned, but to be confronted with the fact that he might have actually killed people was a harsh burden to bear. Something that Shuichi knew he wasn’t very good at. Subtly he moved a bit to place his hands on his legs, as he felt them shaking, and carefully he tried to regulate his breathing back to normal.   
  
Apparently his moment didn’t go fully unnoticed, but luckily for the detective not in a bad way; a sudden soft pressure to the side of his leg moved the bluenette to look down at his lap, and he noticed Ouma’s leg pressed closer to his. Although Saihara kept his face pointing forward so nothing seemed off, and Kokichi did the same, the smaller boy’s hand was placed on top of his in their midst to Saihara’s leg. He glanced towards the supreme leader, who responded the look with his own and a soft squeeze. Even if it frightened the detective to think a simple act as that could have been seen by their higher ups in the vehicle and they could conclude something was going wrong with the two in their project, it offered the blue haired ultimate a bit of comfort as well, and he was glad that Kokichi was being considerate like that; now he couldn’t use the strange humor and lies he usually used to get people’s minds off of things, so he opted for the sweeter and with that safer version. The rest of the drive Saihara decided to keep his eyes on the seat in front of him, and ignore what was happening outside. 

They soon arrived at what once were the suburbs of Towa City, but now only reminded him of a decor in those old war movies his uncle used to love watching.


	4. Run Boy, Run.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ouma has a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> The story is almost over, and I'm actually pretty proud of myself.  
> Warning: there's more swearing and some gore, also my not funny humor
> 
> extra trigger warning: there's mentioning of electrotherapy in here, but I didn't actually get into detail (like the other chapter).

The doors of the car were opened one by one by the driver, and Shuichi got out, his feet finding the concrete once again. A scent of fire and despair entered his nostrils and filled the boy to his lungs, as he struggled not to cringe. This was definitely not the first time destruction was brought this close to Towa City. 

The SUV was parked near many others, and at the same time more people left the vehicles, all armed like Saihara knew his own group was as well. Before anyone went away from the zone that the cars had reached, Tsumugi once again showed herself; this time she was accompanied by a girl that had short black hair and a face that Shuichi supposed he’d seen before, since it looked vaguely familiar. Just like Shirogane her outfit was black and white, suggesting that she was higher up in rank as well. The girl helped the ultimate cosplayer onto a small higher platform, so she could be seen by every single one of the troup, and almost proudly she stretched her arms out wide. ‘As you know, this raid is one far more important to us’, the girl spoke loud and clear, her voice almost echoing through the city. The detective supposed that this information was no secret and their attack wouldn’t be either, and therefore she decided to give a dramatic speech first. ‘What we need you to do is get in the city, if you find any Talentless there is an immediate permission to kill, and if you find any of these people, you try to bring them back to us. Mukuro, help me out’, she continued, which piqued Saihara’s interest as it was information that he had not yet heard. The  _ Mukuro  _ that Tsumugi was speaking about was apparently the black haired female, and she stepped forward holding a small device. Turning it on, it showed something that seemed like a holographic screen. One by one, pictures with names and statuses of people were shown as if it was some sort of slide show.  _ Makoto Naegi; Byakuya Togami, Chisa Yukizome…  _ the list continued on, but so did Shirogane’s speech, and Shuichi needed to focus on her for more information. 

‘They are part of what is called the Future Foundation, and naturally, enemies to the Despairs’, Shirogane tutted and placed her head in her hand almost comically, while the group of people around them made noises of dissatisfaction.  _ The Despairs _ , Shuichi noted,  _ so that’s how they’re calling our group… that’s depressing.  _ ‘Sources told us that there is a chance we might find them around the city, so be on your guard! They are armed, and skilled fighters unlike the Talentless, since they  _ do  _ possess talent. Sadly enough, they chose to use that talent in a way to mingle with the lower rank of humans’, Tsumugi babbled on. The things that were being said made no sense in Saihara’s logic, but considering everything that had been going on so far, it wasn’t even that strange for him to hear. When Shuichi eyed next to him to distract himself from the blue haired girl’s malice reaching the group of people from off the stage, he noticed the purple eyes of Ouma’s lit up a little bit, as he expectantly watched the girl on stage. ‘Bring this city to the ground, and do whatever is necessary! You will have multiple days to do so, search every house and every street. When you’re done, your higher ups can contact us with their monopads. Good luck, and have fun!’, the girl cackled, a strange laughing noise that Shuichi hadn’t heard outside of villain movies in a way that it was almost comical if he didn’t consider the situation they were in, and Mukuro helped the cosplayer off the stage again. 

  
Now people started to move. In the same groups they had been in before, the former students of Hope’s Peak marched into the streets fueled by the girl’s voice, already breaking down doors of the outside buildings. Kaito took a larger gun that was fastened to his suit, as he led the way with Korekiyo who was more skilled with blades. Naturally, Shuichi and Kokichi followed them as they had been doing so far. 

The detective could only guess why their organisation was called the Despairs; seeing what was being done to this town by the hand of people he used to know really did bring every hope he felt in his body down, just to step on it. Grey filled the city, and shots were already heard, startling the bluenette who stepped just a tad bit closer to Ouma. Street lights were already broken down and ruined, just as most outsides of the buildings, and it suggested there had definitely been more attacks around here, perhaps from above. Fire and death entered his vision, a most disturbing combination. At a certain point, Korekiyo and Momota turned to their left and met up with Hoshi who needed help opening a door; he was still rather small, and this building was barricaded fairly well. Kaito forcefully kicked the place open, the red door now no longer in its frame. By the sound of people screaming and gunshots firing once again, Saihara was pretty sure they found one hideout of people, and he swallowed the lump that was in his throat. Through the loud ruckus that came with what was going on there, Shuichi could hear Kokichi’s footsteps, and he turned to the male, only to see he was continuing on without Shinguji and the ultimate astronaut. A small frown replaced the tense expression that the detective had before, and he sped up his pace a little to keep up with the purple haired trickster. Then he heard him whisper, just barely audible. 

_ ‘When I grab your hand, we run’.  _

It was simple and commanding, something that Shuichi was used to being friends for over a year with the ultimate supreme leader, although they held more importance than he was used to from the guy. Back at Hope’s Peak when things were simpler and Shuichi was just starting out as a detective, he had met the smaller male during one of his classes when he managed to distract a teacher very successfully from another classmate of theirs, Miu Iruma, turning up to class too late. The thing was, somehow Kokichi had convinced the teacher that his grandparents, siblings and cousins all died at the same time and that was why he wasn’t paying attention, while most of the class was watching the conversation going on knowing that the boy was an orphan but interested in what the conclusion would be. Saihara had immediately felt some sort of interest towards the other; he wanted to know how one could lie that ridiculously yet that well, and if he could find a certain pattern in these lies that would tell more about the male. What at first was a small project for Saihara to figure his classmate out, soon became a pretty close friendship. The guy was a mystery, and whilst most of the students at the school resented him and hated his guts for the pranks he kept on pulling and the lies he kept getting away with, the detective in Shuichi was still full time trying to figure out the mystery behind Kokichi Ouma. He was relentless, taunting, yet at the same time he could be charming and gentle, one time he would be energetic and childish for just a little while later showing he was in fact smart and thoughtful, even if he did force on some evil mask to torment the kids around him; he was a walking contradiction. Of course after a certain amount of time, Shuichi realised that the mystery of Ouma wasn’t that easily uncovered and that there was no actual reason behind his antics, Kokichi was just a strange yet special character on his own, and he made peace with it, although he did feel proud of getting better at telling his lies and getting a closer bond with the boy. Whilst he used to know Kaito to the point he could probably make his decisions for him based on deductions of his character if he wanted to, Kokichi kept surprising him, every single time. Now was one of those times. 

In response, Shuichi nodded once to show the guy that he had heard his command while not wanting to alarm the kids grouping around them that were busy ruining this town as they knew it. A suffocating fog lingered around the buildings and through the streets, making Shuichi’s mind feel dazed and making him realise how tired he really was, but he focussed on placing one foot in front of another as he followed the supreme leader, silently waiting for him to give the sign. There was no more talking; Shuichi could faintly hear the sound of crying to his right, but paid no attention to it as he didn’t want to get himself involved further than he already was. The whole time that Ouma seemed to stay steady and keep his pace up, Shuichi was contemplating how much of that confident persona was true and what of it was very well lied, which took his mind off of things for the time being. He faintly heard the returning footsteps of Kaito and Kiyo behind them, but forced himself to not look behind himself to check how far ahead they were. The street had multiple crossroads, of which they were nearing one that lead to a smaller mesh of alleys and backstreets, and Shuichi was now fairly sure he knew what Kokichi’s idea at the moment was: they were going to shake them off in there. The keyword really was  _ run;  _ they would need to make speed and not just a small little of it, so they could be gone before the realisation set in by the soldiers surrounding them. 

Shuichi’s legs carried him further over the concrete following the supreme leader almost glued to the hip, and tried to subtly gaze on his hand area from time to time to see when he would shoot his shot. The air roared and he was pretty sure a storm was nearing, which may have been in their advantage. Slowly, he saw Ouma reach to his weapon as he appeared to near another building door, yet Shuichi knew better than to trust those lies; he had to play along, and followed him onto the pavement. The crossroad was close, very close, and the door they set their fake destination to was as well. Hand on his holster the purple haired ultimate seemed to step determinedly to the building, when all of a sudden, his hand direction changed, and it found Shuichi’s rougher one. He was being pulled forward.    
  
He started running. 

Blood pumped through his veins as swiftly as he was breathing when the loud sound of their army boots hitting the ground beneath them echoed through the streets and pushing them to continue maybe even faster. Shuichi ran after Kokichi, keeping up with his impressive pace. They turned right into the narrow alleyway that the both of them had their eyes on for a while now, and for a moment the loud beating of his heart drowned out the sound of starting gunshots behind them. There must have been confusion for a small period of time before the soldiers around would notice that something was off with their behaviour, and they started the attack on the traitors. 

Stumbling over his feet but harshly being pulled forward by the determined and harsh grip that Ouma had on his wrist now, the detective continued forcing his feet to move, yelling and the sound of horror filling his ears to the brim. They managed to dodge signboards of long closed off shops that used to thrive in the bystreet, and skillfully the supreme leader led the way, the hard and solid floor underneath their feet slowly turning to a more dirt and muddish surface with pebbles and inequalities in height. Again pulling the detective into another alley to their left, Shuichi felt like Ouma knew where he was going, although he probably hadn’t been here before. Glancing over his shoulder in a moment of braveness, Shuichi saw that a group was still following them; Momota and Shinguji up front, which made a lump form in his throat. The idea that he was running away to save his life from his long time best friend was saddening. 

  
Kokichi let go of his wrist and threw his whole body against a closed off glass door, managing to break it open. Whatever blood was made by this decision was soaked up by the fabric of his overalls and he looked like he didn’t really sweat it, returning the hand to Shuichi’s wrist as the detective bashfully watched him do this. He pulled him through the created opening, the bluenette cringing when glass cut his ankles and his shoulders, but he followed with no complaints. Using the small run-up, Kokichi darted over the counter that was in the shop they had just entered, and Shuichi followed suit, hearing bullets plough the marble wood the poor object was made from; it had been just in time, as their group had almost caught up to them. There was still no time for them to rest it seemed; Ouma kicked open the back door and rushed outside, Saihara managing to follow him despite being completely exhausted by now. Kokichi turned a left, a right, a left, a left, a right again, and the detective’s head was spinning with the amount of ash he had undoubtedly breathed in and the exhaustion taking over his body. The events really put his physical condition to the test, and so far he could tell, it wasn’t great. By now he was almost certain that the directions Ouma was taking were chosen totally at random and not picked out carefully, resulting into them having to climb obstacles more often than not, and the thought was discouraging. 

Dropping themselves down from yet another low wall that hindered them from continuing with high speed and Shuichi got to know what it felt like to almost be hit by a bullet, his feet landed wrong on the ground and with a soft crack his ankle send a sharp pain throughout his whole body. The boy yelped and fell against the wall next to him, stopping Ouma in his tracks. His eyes were wide with worry when he returned to Shuichi, pulling onto his hands to move him forward despite the struggling noises leaving the detective’s lips every time his foot made contact with the floor. ‘Come on, come on, we’re almost there, you need to keep going!’, Ouma exclaimed hastily, with his strong grip continuing to make Saihara run, every step feeling like knives were being stabbed into his ankle. Their pursuers were now also reaching the wall behind them and starting to climb it skillfully, a despair setting in the detective’s chest as he thought this was going to be the end for him. He would die to the hands of his former friend after almost escaping with the only one he could trust as the moment, also letting him down. Frustrated tears blurred his vision when Kokichi suddenly stopped in his tracks. They had reached a door that was almost hidden away if he didn’t see the outlines earlier, and a marking that he had not yet seen before littered the front. 

Before Kokichi managed to open the door and pull Shuichi in, a sudden sharp impact rushed in from his shoulder to the rest of his body, a great pain forcing a cry from the young detective that clamped onto Kokichi’s arm. The ultimate supreme leader did hear him, but paid no mind to it for now as he closed the door hastily behind them and reached a flight of stairs that led to a basement. Saihara’s shoulder was throbbing and he felt liquid drip down his arm and staining his clothes, but he followed Ouma as if he was his lifeline anyway, since at the moment he probably really was. Tumbling down the stairs and almost falling, Shuichi helped himself by leaning against the near walls when he continued, leaving smudges of a crimson red colour behind on the soft white painted walls.

The basement held no lights but because of a small window near the ceiling there still was some light coming in, and Kokichi made a point to search through multiple shelves in the space as it seemed. He muttered to himself ‘shit, where is it?’, and eventually called over to Saihara that he was a detective so was supposed to look as well, not fully seeing the state he was in. Although he wanted to complain, Shuichi conceded to the plead of the smaller boy and looked around, albeit he had no idea what exactly they were looking for. His eyes pretty quickly met with a strange symbol on one lower cupboard; it was the same as he had seen on the door when they entered the place, and now he could actually see it, he saw it spelled  _ future _ . He pointed it out to the other ultimate in the room, who opened it, and took out a knife of his own. Curiously Shuichi looked at what he was doing; somehow by placing the knife in a gap between the upside and backside of the compartment, he pried out the plank of painted wood that was considered the backside, revealing a hole in the wall. ‘Ladies first’, Kokichi panted softly, obviously also tired from their past evading attempt. Without waiting for Shuichi to actually move, he was pushed through the gap by the supreme leader, a small squeak that turned into a groan of pain following the detective. 

He now found himself in a small tunnel, which was lighted better than anything outside of the city had been. Kokichi followed into the area quickly, closing off the cupboard behind them and with that closing off the light from entering the basement so no one would suspect they were there. 

While Ouma finally felt like he could breathe again and he happily grinned, proud of their succeeded escape, Shuichi quickly tumbled over and slumped against the brick wall, his eyes painfully closing and the thump of his body hitting the surface startling the supreme leader to look at him. ‘Oh- you’re shot, you should’ve said something, geez Shuichi’, Ouma gasped, pulling a part of fabric from the sleeve of his overalls, and binding it around the shoulder to stop the bleeding for now since he couldn’t exactly do anything else, muttering a ‘ _ for an ultimate detective you sure are fucking stupid’ _ , under his breath when he did so. Shuichi gulped embarrassedly and looked down to the floor. ‘Sorry Ouma, I-’, he started to excuse his behaviour, but stopped his speech startledly when Kokichi had pulled him into a tight hug.

A bit baffled the detective carefully returned the gesture and wrapped his arms around the smaller body that belonged to the ultimate supreme leader, feeling he wasn’t as composed as he tried to seem; his body was shaking, even if it was just a little bit, under his touch. ‘Tell me next time when you’re gonna be brainwashed for half a year but you decide not to let me in on the fun’, Kokichi grumbled into his shoulder, the detective widening his eyes. ‘You were… aware, for half a year?’, he asked softly into Kokichi’s hair. The boy nodded, still not letting go of Shuichi. ‘You all looked stupid like brain dead zombies, be glad you regained your conscience’, the purple haired boy said softly. Shuichi chuckled softly yet painfully; he knew that this was a way for the boy to show he was actually worried, and while he wouldn’t do so with words, Saihara knew that he meant to say he truly did care. ‘I’m sorry’, he mumbled, his hand rubbing the upset student’s back, who huffed quietly in response. ‘I couldn’t mess with you for like half a year, you know? It was torture’, he complained, purple eyes looking back up into Shuichi’s with a bashful grin. ‘you were all so  _ boring,  _ you didn’t even react when I confessed my undying love for you’. ‘Y-you did what now?’, Shuichi’s eyes were wide as his face reddened and he coughed softly, making the trickster laugh victoriously. ‘There it is, I missed that!’, he poked his cheek, before stepping back, and Saihara folded his arms together with a huff now, rolling his eyes annoyedly. 

Unannounced the smaller boy started walking again, and Shuichi supposed that meant he was supposed to follow him. ‘Can you tell me about what happened exactly?’, he asked, the detective in him dying to get his questions about the situation finally answered. Even though they were pretty sure that the Despairs weren’t following them anymore, the bluenette kept his voice fairly low to not let anyone hear they were there. ‘Sure!’, Kokichi answered joyously as he skipped down the tunnel, the detective stumbling behind him. ‘So I told my super evil super secret organisation to fix me a more fun education, but apparently they misheard my words for world domination. That was a funny one to explain to the president’, the boy chatted, hands on his hips as he strutted forward. ‘And then they started a rebellion against me when I banned Panta from their menus since obviously only the president of the world, which was me after this successful world domination, is allowed to-’. ‘Ouma, please’, Shuichi interrupted him with a small sigh. ‘Be serious, just this once’. And although it took some pursuing and promising of strange things that the supreme leader wanted, he eventually did tell the true story. Tsumugi had it all planned out with a girl named Junko Enoshima who was the mastermind behind this whole ordeal, and all Kokichi knew and had found out is that they managed to make half of humanity go extinct so far. They wanted the Talented to rule and the Talentless to fuck off, basically. It was a strange story, and Saihara was perplexed to how it could come so far. Ouma was pretty sure that this had all started about a year ago. Shuichi felt bad for him, knowing that the boy had to lie about everything for half a year long, had to do things he didn’t want to do and his morals were against fully, just not to get caught and to die. In that aspect what Saihara had gone through was far less extreme. 

‘..Then you turned sick, and you like threw up all the time, it was gross’, Kokichi happily continued his story, and the detective decided to listen although it sure was strange. ‘But apparently you were hard to control or whatever, they gave you the headzappies all the time’, Kokichi hummed in thought, and Saihara felt a little uncomfortable that Kokichi would call what happened to him  _ headzappies _ , but he didn’t interrupt him anyway. ‘Anyway, the poisoned food you threw up all over the room, thank you very much. No, that was a lie, nishishi! Even as a zombie shumai has manners. But you did throw up in the bathroom, though’, he chirped, and Shuichi groaned uncomfortably, asking if he could please stop talking about the fact that he threw up, since he got that now. ‘So I think that’s why you’re normal again’, was the conclusion to the story, and Saihara nodded; it made sense he supposed. ‘I’m sor-’. ‘It’s fine’, Kokichi interrupted his apology, throwing a look over his shoulders that told the boy to stop the continuous apologizing for something he had no control over. 

They reached the end of the tunnel, and yet another door with the same symbol that said future was carved into the wood. With a small shrug, the trickster opened the door for him and Shuichi, but stopped in his tracks when they were met with people in a uniform they didn’t recognize pointing their weapons at the two, alarmed. Ouma’s and Saihara’s arms shot up as they should when being held at gunpoint, and the ultimate supreme leader chuckled nervously. ‘Hey, there’s no need to do... to do  _ that _ ’, the boy sheepishly coughed, but he really was in no position to make demands. With the realisation that even Kokichi had no control over this situation, the ultimate detective feared the worst.

  
  



	5. He is Trustworthy.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They meet the Future Foundation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> So, this is the end.   
> Warning: swearing, my limited knowledge about anything medical

The people all in blue uniforms that Shuichi still couldn’t quite put his finger on didn’t lower their guns, and the detective knew he had to think of something quick. The fact that they were armed probably didn’t do great in their situation as well; it wouldn’t proof that they weren’t trying to be an enemy towards whoever these people were. Although he did take note of the fact that Ouma and he weren’t shot yet, so that must have meant a good thing. 

‘What’s going on here?’, he suddenly heard from down the room, as the carrier of the soft voice approached them. It was a boy of hardly his height, who seemed younger than he actually was. His hair was a light brown and chopped almost energetic, and his expression while it was one of a leader, was still soft. He recognized those eyes and the facial structure from the hologram pictures that Mukuro had shown them; this was Makoto Naegi. If he could believe what Tsumugi had said, he belonged to the Future Foundation and was one of the higher ups in that organisation. They fought against the Despairs, so basically, they were the good guy that Shuichi had been thinking about. While that was a very good thing, since that probably meant that the group wouldn’t immediately kill the two intruders on the spot, it also wasn’t that great since so far Shuichi and Kokichi still basically looked like a part of the Despairs, their enemy. He eyed the supreme leader that was standing next to him and shifted his weight, the boy obviously also recognizing Naegi from what Shirogane had shown them. ‘Oh~! Nae-’. ‘Ouma, let me do the talking’, Shuichi interrupted him with a whisper, that hopefully sounded more like a command than a question. It did: Kokichi suppressed a smirk, and got in a stupid position saluting his hand to his head. ‘Yes sir!’.    
  
The Future Foundation member looked at them almost amused, which may have been a good sign, but Saihara couldn’t really tell because of his nerves. ‘U-uh, so, hi’, he started, stammering a little and scratching his neck awkwardly.  _ At least you don’t look like a threat _ , he told himself, trying to man up at least a little bit. What the detective somehow didn’t notice as he tried to find words, but Kokichi sure did, was that the soldiers had lowered their guns already. ‘I’m Shuichi Saihara, that’s Kokichi Ouma, and we are… uh… we ran away? From the Despair group, is that what it’s called..?’, Shuichi muttered, the rush of brave he had felt after running away and escaping a group that was as dangerous as they had belonged to. Kokichi groaned dramatically, and threw his arms up. ‘Great play Shuichi, now they think we’re dull as shit! You could’ve told ‘em we were gonna rob them and make it interesting, but you blew it’, the trickster complained, and harshly the detective elbowed him with his fully able arm, getting a huff from the smaller boy. ‘We mean to say, we’re not… we’re not an enemy’, Shuichi continued hastily, hoping he didn’t seem as desperate for Makoto to react as gentle as he looked as he was. ‘We’re not brainwashed zombies, we hate Junko, whatever, don’t kill us’, Ouma added sarcastically, looking at his nails as if they were the most interesting thing in the world, and Shuichi felt like tearing his hairs out. He wasn’t sure how swiftly this big soft feeling he had for Kokichi could so drastically disappear into annoyance, but the guy managed. Strangely enough, Makoto laughed softly. ‘I guessed so, are you two alright? We figured that the fabric of those overalls designed for you absorb most bloodstains and other types of stains, so we can never be to sure’, the man spoke kindly, much preferable to whoever Shuichi himself had heard talking so far. ‘Shumai got shot’, the ultimate supreme leader immediately answered before the detective could tell this Future Foundation member that they were fine, and although it was somewhat sweet that the boy would want these people to take care of Saihara’s injuries, this brought the focus upon the bluenette that wasn’t very comfortable with such. 

‘Don’t worry, we have a very able nurse on our side; you’ll be back to health in no time’, Naegi assured the detective when he walked him to the door and the uniforms returned to guarding the door that the two boys had just come through. Although he wasn’t really asked, Ouma followed behind them when Makoto took it upon himself to escort the guy to the nurse’s office in their building. Shuichi supposed that they had multiple buildings, as the map that he found hanging near the entrance didn’t show a lot. They walked through the well lit halls, meeting people that were in their own clothes; they weren’t in uniform like Shuichi and Kokichi were, which was somewhat a nice change of scenery; it felt less formal all the time. Still, whoever was armed was still dressed for it, and that was somewhat of a relief as well. The people here looked way more relaxed than back at the base of Shirogane, the tension was way lower. The halls were lit well and directions were given easy to follow, what the detective was thankful for in his hazy state; he had lost a lot of blood already, and it was starting to weigh down on him. 

The treating of Shuichi’s injuries with Kokichi nearby really was an… adventure, so to say. When the nurse who told the boys to call her Mikan told the detective to get out of his clothes and into a hospital gown, the ultimate supreme leader immediately protested to embarrassment of both the bluenette and the doctress, who apologized profusely for the innuendo while Shuichi tried to apologize for Ouma’s actions. Finally in a hospital gown without more of the tricksters antics, he was sat onto a bed on his stomach, when the girl got ready for what she was going to have to do about the bulletwound. ‘Ouma, are you sure you want to stay here?’, Shuichi asked for the third time, resulting into the supreme leader huffing and folding his arms together. ‘Ye-es! You almost sound like you don’t want me here,  _ Shuichi _ ’, he accused the other ultimate, who wasn’t phased by his behaviour. ‘I do, but if you’re gonna scare Mikan off more, I will send you away’, the detective warned him, wincing a bit as he got comfortable on the bed. His shoulder really was hurting, and while his ankle was doing at least a little better, it still wasn’t a great feeling. 

The small hospital section of the building was fully clean, and while it was mostly white and light shades of blue, it wasn’t as pale as the room that he had apparently spend many times in during his stay at the Despair building. There were posters of anatomy hanging about which he supposed was for decor or for distractions for the patients, and it was interesting at least that the girl had chosen fairly innocent and professional ones. Soon enough, Mikan Tsumiki returned fully dressed to the occasion of nursing and her hair pulled back, different injection needles and other operation tools she was going to need placed on a handy side table with small wheels that she that way pulled closer. ‘O-okay, I need you to r-relax, this is gonna feel a little strange’, the doctor warned him timidly, before numbing the pain in his shoulder with what Shuichi only could guess was morphine or something of the sort. Although he kept his eyes closed and stayed fairly calm, by the sight of the injection needle Ouma once again started to complain and to worry for Saihara’s safety, to which the detective told the polite nurse to just ignore him. Luckily she got the memo, and went to work, getting the bullet out of his body and getting the skin stitched as well as other injuries treated in just a small period of time, even with the trickster’s dramatic cries in the background. It almost was a relief to listen to him instead of to focus on the strange feeling of someone opening his skin to treat it although the pain was numbed, though, so even if he was annoying, Saihara guessed he kind of welcomed that type of annoying. 

‘There, a-as good as new’, Mikan smiled with a soft laugh as Shuichi got back into his jumpsuit, and Ouma acted like he could finally breathe again. ‘Thank you, you wonderful woman!’, Kokichi cried out as he threw himself at the poor nurse with a big hug, the young woman stammering and confused. Although it was a little sad for the girl, Saihara couldn’t help but to snicker quietly at the spectacle, before he pried the ultimate supreme leader off the nurse and smiled gently at her, also saying his thanks. Finding the exit of the room, they were once again met with Makoto Naegi who had been patiently waiting on them. Ouma had decided that he didn’t want the girl to treat his injuries, and because they weren’t too severe, the Foundation had allowed him to take care of the smaller wounds himself if he were more comfortable with that. It was very considerate, and it made Saihara feel more comfortable in the presence of these people. 

‘I have quickly managed to free a room for you two, later we will see where we can bring you to stay, but hopefully it’ll do so far. You seem exhausted; it’s probably best if you rest for now, and later in the evening we would like to speak to you some more, if that’s alright?’, Makoto asked, not pressing anything. ‘Of course, thank you so much’, Shuichi responded politely, placing his hand over the supreme leader’s lips so he wouldn’t respond in a rude way that he was obviously planning to. Again a small chuckle left Naegi, and he shook his head slowly before showing the two to the dorm room area. It was on the second floor of the building, and while it was also accessible by elevator, the three men opted for the stairs instead. Makoto calmly took the time to explain some set rules of the place that were fairly understandable, as no unneeded violence between foundation members, during the set night time they were allowed to do whatever they wanted if they chose not to sleep but they would have to pay mind to the fact that others were sleeping, and things like that. It kind of reminded the detective of Hope’s Peak’s rules, but in a good way this time. 

With a soft glance at the number the Foundation member opened a door in the hall, that lead to a room with two seperate beds. The room was fairly small, but it had everything they would need for their stay in there, so Saihara supposed it was fine and he couldn’t be more thankful anyway. ‘I will report to the others that we found you two, in the meantime you can rest here’, Naegi told them calmly. He took his leave after a small thanks from Shuichi, and left the two boys to inspect their room for themselves. 

After pulling the door closed behind himself, Shuichi took his time to look around the room while Kokichi immediately claimed the left bed that was closest to the lightswitch, claiming he wanted to be the one that had ‘more power’ or whatever kind of silly thing that the detective didn’t feel the need to pay attention to. The walls were painted with soft blue and silver tones, something that the detective knew was helpful when trying to sleep according to a past investigation for a school project. Most of the floor was carpeted, holding the beds and night stands as well as a drawer on top. The objects were mostly a lighter polished surface, nice to the touch as Shuichi ran his fingers along them to determine whether his assumption had been correct. There was a clock in the room that made for a soft ticking sound so now and then, and even though he’d never been that interested in them also some positivity posters he supposed, you know the ones that hold poetic sentences. He wouldn’t be surprised if that had been Naegi’s idea, since he seemed like the type of person to worry about the wellbeing of the people in the foundation. As Saihara inspected the drawer in the room, he noted there were already some clothes hanging in there in an average size that would fit him but probably not his smaller roommate, and the thought of Ouma drowning in these clothes made him chuckle softly, ignoring the ultimate leader’s questioning glance at the sound. A door lead to a smaller bathroom that fit a shower, a toilet and a sink with a mirror in there, which was all they would really need for now. Checking himself in the bathroom mirror, Shuichi supposed that taking a shower would probably be a good decision. 

After cleaning himself and dressing in the Future Foundation clothes, which consisted of normal jeans and a shirt that was a little too light in color for his taste but it was already much better than the grey overalls he discarded on the tiled bathroom floor for now, since he wasn’t sure if he would even want to give them up for laundry when he wouldn’t mind not having to see the ugly thing ever again. 

‘So, is the place to your liking, mister detective?’, Kokichi asked as soon as the bluenette returned to the room that both beds were in, laying on the left bed with his head in his hands propped up on his elbows. The blankets that were once neatly folded over the mattress had been kicked off and now lay in a sad lump on the floor. The detail made Shuichi sigh softly, although he didn’t comment on it, and he sat down on his own side of the room. ‘Yeah, it’s nice, I guess’, the detective answered honestly, a small smile tugging on his lips. It wasn’t just the room, but also the environment and the non-brainwashed people that pleased him more than the Despair building. The supreme leader sat himself up, letting his legs dangle off the mattress as he sat hunched over. ‘You know…’, he drew out, his head tilting although his eyes never left Shuichi, ‘you should be glad with what’s given to you in these times, brat’, Ouma then spoke disapprovingly, a dramatic frown on his face when he folded his arms together, reminding the detective of his parents when they used to be displeased because of something the younger boy had done. Realising that the trickster probably just required his attention and therefore was acting silly, Shuichi paid no mind to him when he let himself fall back onto the soft mattress, his head resting on the pillow. 

There was a sweet moment of silence, before Shuichi heard the sound of Ouma padding barefooted to his side of the room, which caught his attention. Just before he turned his head, he coughed out when a sudden weight was dropped onto his lower stomach, knocking the air out of his body. The supreme leader had skilfully thrown himself onto the detective, his hands holding his upper half up as they pressed against Shuichi’s chest, and although the bluenette wanted to sigh and tell the purple haired boy off, he wasn’t exactly in the right state. Purple, mischievous eyes stared down into Shuichi’s grey ones, and a grin played on the smaller male’s lips as he had successfully disrupted the detective’s peace. ‘You’re boring when you ignore me’, the trickster complained, his left hand reaching out to Shuichi’s face and grabbing a hold of his cheeks, squeezing them together a bit as the other ultimate sputtered against the assault. 

  
Saihara wanted to retort in a sarcastic way to the boy that was sitting on his stomach and making it hard for him to breathe, something that would tell the kid off, but something in him stopped his lips from moving and blurting out the words. Even though he knew that Kokichi was just playing since he was bored and needed the banter to keep him busy and keep his mind going, the detective couldn’t help but to think about the sentence.  _ You’re boring when you ignore me _ . Ouma had meant nothing with it, he knew this, but still, there was a nagging feeling in his chest that told him this wasn’t just a sentence that came from nowhere. Because, he once again realised, the purple haired boy had been aware of himself for far longer than Shuichi had. While the detective only regained whatever conscience he had the day before, Kokichi had lived like that at least half a year if that information wasn’t a lie. He had to live half a year without being able to act like he wanted to act, in fear of being found out and once again being turned into some sort of machine or worse, being killed. Saihara wasn’t even sure which one of those two would have been the better option, and while he only lived with fear and confusion since the day prior to this one, the supreme leader had probably felt it for far longer, and he had no one to share this experience with because Shuichi was like that as well. So instead of cursing at the boy to stop being dramatic, Saihara averted his gaze shamefully, and muttered a soft ‘sorry’. 

This didn’t please the purple haired ultimate in the slightest, an annoyed frown setting on his face as he kept the hold of the detective’s face. ‘Huh? Oh no, you’re getting all emo again, don’t be so serious shumai!’, he groaned, poking the nose of the student beneath him, who didn’t respond except for with a shaky breath. The trickster’s shoulders slumped down as his posture changed, and he huffed at the sad reaction he was getting. ‘Come on Shu, don’t get depressed over that, it was a lie, you know, ‘cause I’m a liar. I actually like you boring, please stay boring Saihara, it’s hot’, he then chanted, jumping a little and shaking Shuichi’s shoulders and forcing a soft snicker out of the detective that listened to his nonsense. Ouma’s grin was back hearing the sound. ‘Much better’, he hummed. 

‘Ouma?’, Shuichi muttered after a small moment of silence, his eyes still on the boy above him, who raised his brow for the detective to go on. A bit sheepishly the blue haired ultimate didn’t dare to look the supreme leader in the eye, eye contact being something he often had a problem with, definitely when he was nervous. ‘Please never change’, he mumbled quietly, barely audible, but the trickster definitely heard it. Ouma tilted his head again in confusion as he studied the male beneath him, not sure where this suddenly came from. ‘I thought you were dead set on finding out the mystery that was Kokichi Ouma, mister detective’, the smaller boy chuckled softly, not sure what to do with himself when the situation became serious. ‘I am! I was’, the detective gulped softly, correcting himself. ‘B-but not on changing that mystery’, he continued, wanting to reach out and scratch his arm in an embarrassed manner, but not being able to with the weight that was on top of him. Although he tried to hide it, a fond grin tugged at the trickster’s lips by hearing this. ‘Oh? Are we getting sentimental, shumai?’, he teased, poking the boy’s cheek and leaning his head on his hand as his elbow prodded in Saihara’s chest. ‘Shut up’, Shuichi huffed embarrassedly, his face reddening a little, rolling his eyes at the sound of Kokichi’s giggle. ‘I just…’, the detective continued, clearing his throat quietly and trying to find the right words. ‘I know I always say you’re annoying, which, don’t worry, you are’, Shuichi spoke, the small jab at the other just for pay back which he probably appreciated anyway. ‘B-but I really appreciate you as well, and I never really say it or show you… but after the past two days, I feel like any moment it could be too late to tell you, I guess? So that’s why I’m telling you now. Please don’t tease me’, he finished the confession, sighing softly. 

Shuichi expected the ultimate supreme leader to laugh at him and annoy him with this knowledge, or at the very least to make some stupid dramatic comment about it, but what really happened surprised the detective maybe even more than Ouma himself. Before he could fully understand what was happening, the purple haired boy’s face leaned in closer and a soft pressure was placed on Saihara’s lips, quickly and almost secretive. Although it was over in just a second, Shuichi’s wide eyes and baffled expression stayed on his face for a while longer. ‘Wh-what was that for?!’, the detective managed to stammer out, resulting into the ultimate that was still sitting on his stomach to break into a fit of giggles at his response. 

Although Shuichi really wanted the trickster to explain his actions and pressure him to stop confusing the detective, they were interrupted with a knock to the door. Without further discussion Ouma jumped up and went over to the door, leaving Shuichi a red mess trying to calm himself. ‘Yes?’, the supreme leader answered the door in a bittersweet tone, revealing Makoto Naegi that had returned to their room as promised. He asked if the two could speak some more about their stay at the Despair building and just for information about them, and although Saihara was more than willing to say whatever he knew, Kokichi with no hesitation said he wouldn’t be of much use since he was only aware since a day, and the detective supposed he was right; besides, he felt pretty tired, and a good rest would probably do him good. With no complaints he let the supreme leader follow after the ultimate lucky student that belonged to the Future Foundation, and let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding once the door was pulled shut behind them and Shuichi was left alone. 

* * *

It was already a lot later once the door to the hall opened and a beam of light from the hall reached Shuichi’s face, who was laying in his bed. He hadn’t actually managed to fall asleep quite yet; his mind had kept him up. At first, he only thought about the fact that Ouma had kissed him basically out of nowhere, but soon enough that event didn’t even bother him anymore when he realised how many questions he had about the time he spend as a weapon for Tsumugi and her group. ‘You awake?’, he heard Kokichi ask with a softer voice as he entered the room and shut the door behind him. Although he didn’t feel like responding since he sure was tired, Shuichi didn’t want to do this alone either and Ouma must have known more than he did considering the fact he had been aware for a way longer period of time. ‘Yeah’, the bluenette responded, although it came out as nothing more than a whisper. ‘What’s up?’, the supreme leader asked, kicking off his shoes and changing into sleepwear before tumbling into his bed that was on the other side of the room, keeping the light low as to not disturb the detective’s eyes that had gotten used to the darkness of the room. ‘I was just thinking about things’, Shuichi responded in all honesty, not sure why he was being vulnerable towards Ouma, but deciding he didn’t mind either. 

‘As you humans do’, Kokichi nodded as if he understood the struggle, and although Saihara wasn’t in a great mood, it still ripped a chuckle from his chest. ‘I just… I realise I’ve done things, horrible things, and I don’t even know what’, the detective continued, his eyes open although in the poorly lit room that was to no use. He was lying on his back, his face up to the ceiling and his hands playing with his fingers as a nervous habit as they were folded over his chest. Kokichi huffed however, sitting up and staring at the blue haired ultimate. ‘You’re seriously gonna be that mean to yourself after you just suffered from a bullet wound when blindly listening to a liars promise to save your ass as you attempted and succeeded to escape from brainwashed zombies that used to be your friends and also completely outnumbered us? That’s stupid’, Ouma exclaimed, pointing accusingly at the detective. 

It was probably stupid, and Shuichi knew that he shouldn’t be thinking about it that much since he wasn’t himself when it happened, but he couldn’t help but to feel the guilt seep in from every corner and spread through his body like a disease. It was horrifying and it was tiring how the guilt of something he had no control over gnawed at his brain, but the detective didn’t know how to stop it from happening anyway. ‘Kokichi, please be honest to me’, he mumbled, blinking as he reassured himself. ‘Always, I never lie, I hate liars. Always tell the truth. Scout’s honor’, Kokichi nodded, saluting him once again, managing to make Saihara laugh softly in his state as well. ‘You’ve never been a boy scout…’, the ultimate muttered to himself as he shook his head, but he decided to take everything that the trickster said with a grain of salt anyway. ‘I’m serious, alright?’. The ultimate supreme leader didn’t respond this time, which fueled Shuichi to continue. ‘Did I… did I ever…  _ kill  _ anyone?’, the detective asked quietly, his voice barely audible but still there as the question made a panic rise in his chest. 

For a moment it stayed quiet, and Saihara feared the worst. However, then he heard Kokichi move and get out of his bed, padding towards Shuichi. Instead of jumping onto him like last time, he gently shoved the bluenette closer to the wall, before he lifted the blanket and got underneath with the ultimate. Silently, Shuichi let him, no questions asked (out loud anyway). An arm went to his waist and a warm body of the supreme leader was cuddled comfortably against his, his head on the detective’s chest. Instinctively Saihara’s fingers found their way to the tricksters hair, as he listened to the soft sound of his breathing and the clock ticking filling the silence. 

‘It’s no use to keep thinking like that’, Kokichi suddenly spoke up, his voice vibrating against Shuichi’s chest, ‘about what happened already. You can’t change it, you know? Tomorrow, we’ll undoubtedly have to keep on running. It’s never going to stop, when time moves, you move with it, and that’s that. So get some rest, alright?’, he muttered, not letting go of Saihara. The latter took a deep breath, and nodded, although it was mostly to himself, as he agreed with the boy. He was probably right. So eventually, he fell asleep, limbs tangled with the supreme leader in a way that reminded him of the sleepovers they had back at Hope’s Peak. 

  
  


And Ouma couldn’t have been more right with what he said as the two woke up the next morning when the whole building was shaking; the Future Foundation’s base was under attack, and once again, they had to run. Both unprepared but determined the two faced the danger and again escaped the danger together, as they supposed would have to happen more often in times like these. And there was no one else Shuichi would rather have to trust than the completely unpredictable liar of a friend he had, while Kokichi wouldn’t want to change his fate for the world either. Saihara knew of course, that what Ouma had said was true. There was no way to change the past, not now and not ever, but perhaps they could change the future for the better. Perhaps they could weigh out the bad things they had done under the influence of Shirogane with good deeds during a war that desperately had to be won by those who could make the world a better place. It was a rash decision maybe, but so far Shuichi had made all his decisions unprepared and out of the blue. The future was unpredictable, he knew that, and just like figuring out the mystery behind Ouma’s lies on a saturday afternoon when they were both lazily playing a game of cards just for the heck of it, he wouldn’t change the uncertainties that the future brought with it. If he could use these uncertainties to escape before, perhaps he could use them as well to create a better place for everyone else. 

Those were only the hopeful thought of a young detective, and while he couldn’t have known that most of his predictions would be answered and he would get to see that end of the war and the beautiful world after with Kokichi Ouma by his side, all he could do for now was hope, and all he could do for now, was run. Run to leave the sounds of a war between good and bad, a war between future and despair, and run to leave the mess of destruction behind. So he did. He ran as far and as fast as his legs could take him, together with the ultimate trickster that he shared this mess of a fate with. 

He ran towards a new, and hopefully better, future. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End. 
> 
> A/N:   
> I really hope that the ending wasn't a let down, since I wanted to keep it somewhat open but still felt like making it a happy end since happy ends make me happy.   
> It was a fun project to write, and I hope that you liked it as well.

**Author's Note:**

> (I hope you're enjoying the story! Likes and kudo's are much appreciated, but don't feel obligated to anything :)


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